


The Courtship of Harry Hart

by potentiality_26



Category: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Genre: First Time, Harry Lives, M/M, Misunderstandings, Obliviousness, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-30
Updated: 2016-05-30
Packaged: 2018-07-11 04:52:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7029409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/potentiality_26/pseuds/potentiality_26
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>“If I liked somebody back in the day,” Eggsy explained, “I’d know exactly what to do about it. But everything’s different here and I… well, I gotta make sure H- well, the person that I like- knows how serious I am about this. Everything’s gotta be perfect, you know?”</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>Roxy blinked at him. “Eggsy,” she said slowly. “Is this about Harry?”</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>Eggsy felt himself flushing. He knew he had to be prepared for this reaction from people. He knew what he was like and what Harry was like and that everyone was going to think it was some kind of joke, Eggsy actually thinking he had a shot with Harry. And it wasn’t like Eggsy didn’t also know that there was a good chance of Harry turning him down flat- but he was hoping that if he did everything right Harry would at least let him try.</i>
</p>
<p>Eggsy decides to woo Harry- which turns out to be more complicated than it seems.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Courtship of Harry Hart

**Author's Note:**

> Titles are officially the bane of my existence, I'm telling you.
> 
> Not Brit-picked.

“How do you people- you know- do it?” Eggsy asked Roxy in the dining area of HQ one day over breakfast.

Roxy had been brushing up on protocol for her latest mission all morning, and she glanced up from her tablet for the first time in almost an hour to give Eggsy a weird look.  “Do… what exactly?  And who do you mean by ‘you people?’  Women?”

“Posh people.  How do you… hook up?”

“Posh people have sex in exactly the same way everyone else does, Eggsy.”

“Don’t mean it like that,” Eggsy said- well, mumbled- as he kept his eyes steadily fixed to his eggs rather than Roxy’s face.  “I meant before that.”

“You’ve lost me.”

“If I liked somebody back in the day,” Eggsy explained, “I’d know exactly what to do about it.  But everything’s different here and I… well, I gotta make sure H- well, the person that I like- knows how serious I am about this.  Everything’s gotta be perfect, you know?”

Roxy blinked at him.  “Eggsy,” she said slowly.  “Is this about Harry?”

Eggsy felt himself flushing.  He knew he had to be prepared for this reaction from people.  He knew what he was like and what Harry was like and that everyone was going to think it was some kind of joke, Eggsy actually thinking he had a shot with Harry.  And it wasn’t like Eggsy didn’t also know that there was a good chance of Harry turning him down flat- but he was hoping that if he did everything right Harry would at least let him try.  “Yeah,” he admitted.  He thought about lying, but Roxy knew him- and Harry’s sort- pretty well and if she thought Eggsy didn’t have a chance in hell there would be a good reason for that.

The blank way she stared at him was probably not a good sign.  “Eggsy,” she said at last.  “Until this conversation, I could have sworn you and Harry were already fucking.”

“Rox,” Eggsy hissed.

“Oh.”  Roxy looked torn between amusement and naked surprise.  “I’m sorry, would you prefer a euphemism?”  Amusement was winning out.  “Doing the nasty?”

“Stop it, Rox.”

“Making the beast with two backs?”

“Roxy, there’s nothing going on between me and Harry, okay?”  Eggsy wasn’t sure his face could get any redder.

She looked like she was thinking about teasing him some more, but she relented.  “You want there to be, though, don’t you?”

Eggsy nodded helplessly.

He had thought Harry was gorgeous from minute one, and since he had sort of assumed that Harry was… well, expecting reimbursement for his favor of the physical variety, he had anticipated an immediate consummation of that interest. But then Harry had been offering him a job instead, and Eggsy knew perfectly well that if there was a literal manifestation of the words _out of his league_ it was Harry Hart, so he’d put his attraction behind him.  And Harry was his friend, his mentor, just all around one of the best things in his life- so Eggsy kind of hated himself for looking across the table at Harry during Merlin’s briefing a week ago and realizing that he was also crazy about him.

Eggsy had given the feeling a week to fade or morph back into something more appropriate, but instead he had spent that week going all gooey inside every time Harry smiled at him.  So he’d come up with a plan- he’d date Harry, or at least try to, and hopefully prove to him that despite appearances they belonged together.

“So,” Roxy said, “let me see if I have this right.  _You_ want to woo _Harry_.”

And if that didn’t sound stupid Eggsy didn’t know what did, but she was right, that was what he wanted, so he nodded again.

“And you’re telling me you have no idea how to go about it?”

“Not… really,” Eggsy said, feeling even stupider than before.  “No.”

“Well then.”  Roxy set her tablet down and pushed away her tray, finally getting serious about this.  “This is what you need to know about wooing.”

*   *   *

Harry spent a lot of time in his office, so Eggsy could normally find him there, even as late in the evening as it was when Eggsy finally worked up the courage to do the first thing Roxy had told him to do.

Eggsy knocked and waited to be asked in- he did pay attention to the stuff Harry taught him, all right?- and walked in to find Harry bent over his paperwork.

“Eggsy,” Harry said with a smile.  “What can I do for you?”

“I- um-” Eggsy cleared his throat, spent a second looking at his shoes, and collected himself.  “I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner with me?”  When Harry didn’t answer right away, Eggsy panicked a little, plowing through the rest of what he’d planned to say far too quickly.  “Roxy’s cousin owns a nice place and she talked to him.  We wouldn’t have to worry about getting a table.”

When Eggsy made himself look at Harry again he was still smiling, the expression getting wider and softer at the same time.  “I would love that, Eggsy.”

“You- uh- you would?”

“Very much.”  Harry’s smile quirked.  “Unfortunately, I really can’t get away right now.”

“Some other time, then?”  Eggsy managed not to sound too plaintive, he thought.  Maybe this wasn’t going so badly after all.

“Absolutely,” Harry said.  He toyed with his pen for a moment, hesitating.  Then, “I _was_ just about to head down to the kitchens and get myself something to eat, though.  Any chance you’d like to join me?”

Eggsy couldn’t nod fast enough.  It might not have been the romantic dinner he and Roxy had planned out, but any time with Harry was, in Eggsy’s opinion, time well spent.  “’Course.”

Harry smiled again, and Eggsy’s gut turned over in a way that was actually very pleasant.  He smiled back.

So Harry finished up the report he was going over and Eggsy messaged Roxy not to worry about a table after all, and they headed down to the kitchens together.  It was dark and most of the staff had gone home, and Eggsy was starting to enjoy himself.  “You know, Harry,” he said, “I sort of thought that we weren’t allowed to get anything from the kitchens when they weren’t open.”

Eggsy supposed the rule was there to keep agents from just living at work- which some of them, including Harry, almost certainly would if left to their own devices- but he still hesitated to mess with the cook, who had been Lamorak once upon a time and was not to be got on the wrong side of at any price.

Harry said, “I’m in charge.  I’ll do what I like.”

“Ah.  So it’s _not_ allowed, then.”

“Not technically.”  Harry grinned at Eggsy and Eggsy thought that, in this case, crossing the cook might be worth it- after all, it put _that_ smile on Harry’s face.  Looking at Harry now, Eggsy wasn’t sure he had ever wanted to kiss someone this much in his life. 

Despite his resolve not to do so until _after_ they had gone on a proper date, Eggsy might have acted on the impulse had he not gotten a message from Roxy.

< _Oooh_ > it said.  < _That was even quicker than I expected.  Have a good night then, boys._ >

Eggsy stopped short, staring at the message until the words blurred.

A light hand came to rest on Eggsy’s elbow.  “Are you all right, Eggsy?” Harry asked.  In the half-dark, Eggsy could see worry on his face.

“Yeah,” Eggsy said quickly.  “Rox is just being weird.”

“I see,” Harry said.  “Why don’t I-” he slipped away and into the kitchens before Eggsy could form another reply.

Stuck hanging back anyway, Eggsy called Roxy.  “What the fuck are you talking about?” he hissed.

He could practically hear Roxy deflating on the other end.  “Can I not conclude, then, that you have skipped to the lube and condoms portion of the evening?”

“What?  No!”  Eggsy lowered his voice even further.  “No, you can’t.”

“I see,” she sniffed.  “Well, then- I hope you enjoy it, whatever it is the two of you are actually doing.  I’ll talk to you later.”

“Yeah, later.”  Eggsy disconnected just as Harry returned with his arms laden with sandwich making materials.

“All right?” Harry asked.

Eggsy nodded immediately.  “Yeah, yeah, what about us, though?  What happens if we get caught?”

Harry’s smile was back.  “It’s best all around if we don’t find that out.”

“Fuck,” Eggsy breathed, taking some of Harry’s burden and starting the journey back down the hall.  Harry’s laugh was as musical to Eggsy’s ears as Roxy’s words were bizarre.  She was the one who had agreed that Eggsy’s usual _Wanna get out of here?_ approach would not be Harry’s style.  She was the one who had said- with much emphasis, Eggsy might add- that he would be better off avoiding such a move for as long as possible.

_In fact_ , she had said significantly, _a gentleman- someone like Harry, for instance- would probably never say something like that at all.  It’s really the… courted party who ought to be taking things to the next level_.

Eggsy hadn’t loved that plan, hadn’t been able to imagine Harry becoming sufficiently wooed to just sweep Eggsy into his arms one day, but he was willing to give it a try.  Had Roxy honestly thought one dinner invitation was all it would take for Harry to throw Eggsy over his desk for the ravishing of his life?  And now Eggsy was thinking about it, being spread out over Harry’s desk, and- was it suddenly getting hot in here?

They had made it back to Harry’s office by then and Eggsy set everything on top of Harry’s desk, resolutely not thinking about anything more interesting happening over it.  Harry gave him another smile.  “See?  Mission accomplished unscathed.”

“Right,” Eggsy said, still slightly off-balance at Roxy’s insinuation. 

Was there something he had failed to do that would have made things turn out… differently?  He wanted to be subtle, classy, _nice_ \- thereby proving to Harry that he could be all those things- and if that meant waiting a while for more Eggsy was willing.  But now he was worried that he was missing something, and it scared him. 

“This is nice, right?” he said as Harry started building a sandwich.

“Very.”  Harry smiled.  “It’s been too long since we’ve gotten to spend time together like this.”

“Yeah,” Eggsy agreed, hesitating.  Harry wasn’t wrong; between his work as Arthur and Eggsy’s missions, they hadn’t seen as much of each other as they once had.  There had been a time when Harry had taken Eggsy out at least once a week.

_Your first mission deserves a celebration, my boy.  How does that French place you were asking me about sound?_

_You could use a refresher the nine course meal, couldn’t you?  Why don’t I help you with that?_

_I_ like _having you over with your sister, Eggsy, really it’s no trouble.  Here, let me show you how they set at the table at a royal dinner.  I’m sure Daisy would enjoy being a queen for a day._

Back then, almost every free moment that Eggsy didn’t spend with his family had been spent with Harry.  And Eggsy had relished it, soaked up his mentor’s attention, but he hadn’t been surprised when things slowly but surely changed.  Harry was a busy man, after all.  He couldn’t be expected to have that much time for Eggsy forever. 

And it was nice to hear him suggest that he’d missed Eggsy, but… well, it did make Eggsy wonder if Harry even realized that this was meant to be a date.

Harry proved his suspicions utterly right when he said, “I’ve been meaning to ask if you were… seeing each other.  You and Miss Morton.”

Eggsy just stared at him for a second.

“It wouldn’t be against any rule,” Harry said.  “If you were.”

Eggsy finally managed to shake his head.  “No way, Harry.  Me and Rox are friends.”

Harry nodded.  “But is there someone?”

Eggsy shook his head again.  “Unattached, bruv.”  Since Harry had thoroughly misunderstood Eggsy’s intentions, Eggsy supposed it was still possible that _Harry_ had someone.  He had paid attention, of course.  Even before he had fully understood what he wanted from Harry, Eggsy had watched him closely and seen no sign that he was with anyone.  Still, Harry was probably good at keeping secrets, and there was a chance that he saw his love life as a secret to be kept, so Eggsy supposed he might as well broach the subject.  “What about you?”

“No,” Harry said, eyes a little sad.  “There’s no one.”

It was something, if Harry was lonely.  If he did really want someone in his life, there was a chance that he could also come to want Eggsy to be that person.

“So, Eggsy- how’s your family?”  Harry asked, changing the subject. 

Disheartened but unwilling to waste the evening, Eggsy went along with it.

*   *   *

In the end Eggsy couldn’t bring himself to say that their dinner date, such as it had been, had been a failure.  Harry hadn’t been wrong when he pointed out that they hadn’t seen much of each other lately.  And Harry had always been so easy for Eggsy to just be with, listening to stories about his mum and sister with such interest and telling him in turn about his mountains of paperwork and the antics of various agents.  In a way Eggsy was glad that the night had turned out like it did.  In the new flush of his feelings for Harry, Eggsy had sort of forgotten the most important part- that Harry was his friend.  He didn’t want to lose sight of that again.

On the less positive side of things, there was the fact that Eggsy asking him out on a date had sailed completely over Harry’s head.  It did not, Eggsy thought, bode well for his courtship if that was how things between them were going to be, since the whole point of the exercise was that Eggsy _not_ come right out and say, _Jesus, Harry, I really want to fuck you._

Still, he wanted to try out Roxy’s plan for at least a little longer, because while it might not be foolproof ‘get Harry into bed’ material it was certainly good for showing Harry how important to Eggsy he was- and he was so very important to Eggsy.

Second on Roxy’s list of things a posh person might do had been gifts, which made sense to Eggsy.

_Flowers and chocolate and shit?_ he had snarked at the time.

Roxy hadn’t taken the bait.  _Those choices are so popular for a reason.  But a gift is only as good as how personal it is.  Something that would actually be useful but still sentimental, that’s what you ought to go for._

_I get you_ , Eggsy had said, and started making plans. 

According to Roxy, a good gift was all about knowing who you were giving it to, and Eggsy thought he knew Harry pretty well- the problem was that knowing what Harry was like and knowing what he _liked_ were two very different things.  Take Harry’s house, for instance- Eggsy had yet to work out any rhyme or reason to the decorations inside it, which meant that there either wasn’t one or what pattern there was made sense only to Harry.  So while Eggsy might think that some old grandmother’s spoon collection would not be out of place, Harry might disagree.

Still, when he took his mum and sister shopping on his day off Eggsy kept his eyes open for… something.  He had this idea that he’d know exactly what to get when he saw it.

His mum watched him with a tiny smirk on her face for most of the day, until she finally said, “You know, if you told me what you were looking for I could probably help.”

Eggsy flushed.

Back when he had only looked on Harry as a friend- a really great, gorgeous friend- Eggsy had pretty much resigned himself to the fact that Harry would never be his mum’s favorite person.  And though in the beginning she had mostly tolerated him for Eggsy's- and later Daisy’s- benefit, she had eventually thawed to him somewhat.

In hindsight, Eggsy had an idea that his mum had figured out which way the wind was blowing with Harry before Eggsy himself had- and though she still looked a bit unsure of Harry now and then she had clearly decided that this was not something she and Eggsy were going to have a falling out of over, especially not when Harry had amply proven how much he cared about Eggsy.  Eggsy was glad about that, of course he was, but there were still things he wasn’t sure he could share with her.

His face spoke for him.  “Is this about Harry?” she asked.

Eggsy nodded hesitantly.

“His birthday coming up?”

Eggsy shook his head.  “I just wanna get him something nice, you know?”

His mum nodded like she knew there was more to it, but she didn’t press him about it.  “What are you looking for exactly?”

“Dunno, do I?  Wanna show him how much… you know, he means to me and all.  But he ain’t easy to shop for, Harry.”  Frankly, Harry was the proverbial man who had everything.

Sure, he didn’t literally have _everything_ , but he wasn’t in the habit of denying himself things he wanted either, and Harry always got the best of everything.  Eggsy had seen great displays of that back when Harry was helping him get himself and his family set up.  Harry was generous to a fault- one of any number of things about him that Eggsy should have realized sooner that he _loved_ \- and given his position as the one who introduced Eggsy to a certain style of living he was also unaccustomed to being on the receiving end of things.  Eggsy wanted him to become accustomed, though.  He wanted Harry to know what it was like when someone gave you something you hadn't even realized you wanted.

And if the gift was perfect enough for Harry to figure out how Eggsy had come to feel about him and miraculously discover that he felt the same way, Eggsy wouldn’t exactly be sorry about that- not that he was going to tell his mum as much.

She was nodding.  “Suppose he wouldn’t be,” she said, looking around with renewed interest.

“Not _here_ , Mum,” Eggsy said.  On Daisy’s insistence they had taken a detour into a toy shop.  “We’re talking about Harry, yeah?”

“Harry,” Daisy echoed happily.

Eggsy rolled his eyes.

Just when Eggsy had allowed himself to consider the matter more or less closed, Daisy found a dollhouse of which she was especially enamored.  “What about this, then?” his mum said.

Eggsy couldn’t tell if she was kidding or not, suggesting that he buy a dollhouse for the guy he had a crush on.  “Are we doing that thing where we buy other people the stuff we actually want?”

It was his mum’s turn to roll her eyes.  “I mean it, Eggsy.  Trust me.”

He wasn’t sure he did completely trust her, not when it came to doing this thing with Harry right.  “I want it to be romantic, mum,” he protested quietly.

Proving him right about her seeing whatever this was with Harry coming, she didn’t look at all surprised.  “Well, romance is in the eye of the beholder and all that.  But you said you wanted to show him what he means to you, give him something he can’t get anywhere else, yeah?”

“It ain’t something he has already,” Eggsy admitted.  “I’ll give you that.”

“Look,” she said.  “You come back later and buy it, and if you decide you don’t want to give it to him then Daisy’ll get a nice thing for her birthday and nobody’s gotta know.”

“All right,” Eggsy agreed at last.

*   *   *

Eggsy spent a long time in the toy shop that evening, having a staring contest with the dollhouse, trying to see what his mum had seen that made her think giving it to Harry would be a good idea.

It was a nice dollhouse, wood rather than plastic.  Pretty.  The house itself looked a little like Harry’s place- like Eggsy’s too, but when Eggsy thought about a house like that or pictured it in his mind it was always Harry’s.  There were some generic people to go with it, including a man in a suit who could pass for Harry.  There wasn’t really one that could pass for Eggsy, not even in his Kingsman garb, but he had a brief vision in which there was one.  He could put him and Harry in the kitchen finishing Sunday dinner, and his mum and Daisy in the dining room helping set the table, and Daisy's new dollhouse upstairs.  It was while still in the throes of this little domestic fantasy that Eggsy had his epiphany.

What do you get the man who has everything?

When it came to material things, if Harry didn’t already have it he didn’t really want it.  But there were plenty of things you couldn’t buy, not really.  And Harry _had_ been lonely.  Eggsy was surer of that every day.

He called his mum.  “Thanks,” was all he could think to say.  “I’m just gonna…” He waved ineffectually, knowing she couldn’t see him.  All he could think was how it wasn’t very late by Harry’s standards; if he was home, Eggsy could see him right now.

“I’ll see you later,” his mum told him.  She even said _later_ in this tone that suggested that it didn’t have to be tonight if he turned out to be otherwise occupied. 

Eggsy wasn’t sure what to do with that, and anyway he doubted tonight would go that way.  Still, he’d spend what time he could with Harry, and sleep in the spare room if it came to that.  He wasn’t going to push this. 

When he arrived at Harry’s, Eggsy angled his grip on the dollhouse so he’d get a look at Harry’s face when he opened the door and saw Eggsy on the other side holding it.

“Mum and Daise and me went shopping.”

Harry eyed the dollhouse.  “And then you took a detour with… this… why?”

“We thought you might like to have it,” Eggsy said as casually as he could.  “For- you know- when Daise is over.”

Harry’s expression was complicated.  “And by ‘we’ you mean…”

“It was Mum’s idea."  That wasn’t the most romantic thing to admit, Eggsy knew- but he also knew there was more to it than that, knew it would mean a lot to Harry that she’d come up with this.  Harry thought her opinion of him was far lower than it actually was.

Harry’s smile was slow and- for Harry- shy.  “Well,” he said.  “You’d better come in, then.” 

Eggsy grinned.  There weren’t a lot of things that he could give Harry that nobody else could- but a place in his family was one of them.

*   *   *

Eggsy woke the next morning in high spirits. 

He had decided not to make a move on Harry the night before- though he was sorely tempted every time Harry looked at him.  It hadn’t seemed quite… appropriate, like kissing Harry while they set up the dollhouse would cheapen the moment.  After they finished, Harry asked if Eggsy had anywhere to be and Eggsy replied that he didn’t, so they spent the rest of the evening watching old movies while Eggsy fell half asleep on the couch.

Harry had put him to bed in the spare room, and the memory of Harry’s fingers gently brushing strands of hair from his forehead lingered in Eggsy’s mind as he woke, giving him hope for the future.  

Since Harry was a late sleeper if given the choice, the house was quiet when Eggsy dressed and headed downstairs to the kitchen.  Disturbing that quiet as little as possible, Eggsy started on a breakfast of pancakes.

Though Eggsy still had every intention of going through all of Roxy’s steps to courting, he had had another idea.

Harry had taken such good care of Eggsy- and he had done it so casually and so simply that Eggsy had never really noticed him doing it.  But the look on Harry’s face when Eggsy brought over that dollhouse- and with it his and more importantly his mother’s tacit permission to spend more time with Daisy- made it so very clear that Harry wasn’t used to people being there for _him_.

He pretty much proved Eggsy’s point when he came downstairs that morning and- once he realized what Eggsy was doing- got the sweetest look of surprise on his face.  “What are you up to?” 

“Breakfast,” Eggsy said with a smile.  “Sit down, it’s almost ready.”

And Harry’s answering smile was definitely worth having to avoid his mum’s eyes for a while until he managed to convince her that he had not, in fact, spent the night at Harry’s in a sexy way.

*   *   *

Next on Roxy’s ‘list’ was contact- a lot of it, and of the physical and emotional variety. 

_Not in a creepy way, mind,_ Roxy had said.  _Though with you and Harry I don’t suppose that means a great deal._

It was true that he and Harry were pretty all over each other normally.  Eggsy was tactile when he felt comfortable enough to be and Harry… well, Eggsy had been able to tell that he wasn’t much of a toucher naturally, but that once he had started he had taken to it in a way that further underscored Eggsy’s belief that Harry had been very lonely before he came along.  Eggsy was more than happy to let Harry touch his fill.  A guiding hand on the small of his back as they walked together or a bracing hand to his shoulder after a long mission had quickly become pretty much the norm for them.

And, except for when Eggsy was on a mission, he and Harry typically saw each other every day.  That made the kind of epistolary romance Eggsy had immediately envisioned not the most necessary or even workable idea.

But Eggsy had an idea of his own. 

The morning after Eggsy stayed over, Harry still had to go into work relatively early.  Harry going to work early was Harry still fifteen minutes late for his meeting down in R&D, but that suited Eggsy’s purposes well enough.  He slipped into Harry’s office while he was in the meeting and left a tin of Harry’s favorite biscuits and a sticky note. 

_Don’t suppose there are exploding pens in my future?  (It’s a classic for a reason, Harry)_

Eggsy had been in an excellent mood since breakfast.  Harry had looked so adorable- all sleep mussed and bemused- that Eggsy had thought seriously about kissing him, seeing what the syrup tasted like on his lips and then, maybe, slipping Harry out of his robe and seeing what the rest of him tasted like too.  But instead they’d just sat together and talked, so Eggsy was feeling very virtuous and pleased with himself- and ready for the next phase. 

There was a spring in his step as he checked in with Merlin about the mission he was slated for next month and then spent some time in the gym.  When he made it to the locker room, there was a note and a protein bar taped to his locker.

The note said _Not just yet, I’m afraid, but I’ll pass on the message._

Eggsy ate the protein bar, which was pretty tasty for what it was, and it definitely got his energy back up.  While Harry was in a meeting with the organization’s donors- mainly rich retired agents with little left to do but criticize the sitting Arthur as if they could have done better after V-Day- Eggsy slipped him another note. 

_How’d you know I kept forgetting to eat after I worked out?_

_Lucky guess,_ Harry replied by leaving a note on Eggsy’s shoes while he was sparring.  Eggsy wondered how Harry had managed to do that without him noticing before he remembered the whole ‘spy for thirty years’ thing.  Mainly Eggsy was just pleased that Harry was playing along with him, even if he just saw it as a way to pass the time.   

It was evening when Eggsy got done with all the things he wanted to do that day, and it was long past time for Harry to go home, though Eggsy knew he wouldn’t have.  And of course there Harry was, bent over some papers in his poorly lit office.  His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and a glass of whiskey was at his side.  Eggsy took a second to admire the look of him. 

“Eggsy.”  Harry blinked a little tiredly when he noticed Eggsy in the doorway.

“Heya, Harry.”  Eggsy crossed to Harry’s desk and leaned against the edge of it, very close to Harry.  He had decided to risk being a little more on the nose.  He pressed a sticky note to Harry’s chest, right above his heart.  Harry looked down at it, reading _repeat of last night, maybe? :)_ upside down. 

The reaction was so faint and the room was so dim that Eggsy would have missed it if he hadn’t been looking at Harry so intently.  But the back of Harry’s neck went very slightly red- and his voice was just a little gravellier than usual when he said, “If you like.”  Harry threw back the contents of his drink and stowed the papers in his desk drawer.  “These will keep.”     

Eggsy grinned.  They were definitely getting somewhere. 

*   *   *

They watched Pretty Woman that night.

Around the time Julia Roberts’ character was saying that she knew Richard Gere wasn’t a lawyer- _huh_ \- Eggsy had another epiphany.  His feet were pressed up against Harry’s hip and Harry was massaging them lightly and Eggsy said, “Fuck,” quietly.

Harry paused, giving him an odd look.  “What’s the matter?”

“It’s not a big deal,” Eggsy said quickly, though it sort of was.  “Just realized something, that’s all.”

“Can I help?”

“Nah, bruv,” Eggsy said.  “Gotta work it out on my own.”

Harry gave him one last searching look, nodded, and went back to watching the movie.  Eggsy missed most of it, himself.  He was too busy feeling like an idiot. 

There was, Eggsy had just realized, a reason Roxy had expected Eggsy’s first ‘date’ with Harry to involve far more throwing himself into Harry’s arms and far less shyly asking him out on a date.  It was the same reason that even Eggsy’s mum wouldn’t be surprised to hear that they’d taken their relationship to the next level. 

Because when Roxy had told Eggsy how a posh person- like, say, _Harry_ \- might court someone else, she had probably assumed that Eggsy would finally realize what had already been painfully obvious: that Harry had been courting _him_ for a long time.  He’d been courting him with all the dinners and late nights at Harry’s place, with all the gifts and compliments- all the little ways he had made Eggsy feel special, safe, cared for.

A part of Eggsy was overjoyed.  Harry wanted him too after all, and that was… great.  That was perfect.  He’d been dating Harry without even realizing it for ages and it was good.  It was going pretty well, by the looks of things, and Eggsy very much did want to take it to the next level, since they had clearly earned it by now. 

Another part of Eggsy was a little scared, because Harry had never decided to be a little more unambiguous despite Eggsy so thoroughly missing the point.  He had never said _anything_.  What if he had decided that Eggsy wasn’t worth the trouble?  What if he had carried on out of habit or because he understood that Eggsy was assuming that was just how their friendship worked and hadn’t had the heart to correct him?

And even if Harry was still interested in dating Eggsy- and it was hard enough to believe that he ever had been- how exactly was Eggsy supposed to make him see that things had changed?

It brought Eggsy right back to where he started- with _I really want to fuck you_ not being the sort of thing Eggsy wanted to say to Harry Hart.     

*   *   *

Twenty-four hours later, Eggsy still hadn’t found the perfect words, but it didn’t really matter because one of Harry’s old contacts wanted to meet him on a supposedly urgent matter and Eggsy was chosen to accompany him. 

Twenty-four hours after _that_ , everything had gone spectacularly to shit. 

“We’re okay, right?” Eggsy was saying, more to himself than Harry, as he sat with his back against the wall in said contact’s makeshift dungeon.  “Rox- er, Lancelot’s going to come and get us out and Percival’s going to stop our guy before he gets out of the country. What did he have against you, anyway?  Didja steal his girl or something?”

“Certainly not,” Harry said.  His voice was weak, his face sheened with sweat- but of course he’d been stabbed, so that was to be expected. 

“Then what?” Eggsy was mainly trying to keep Harry talking. 

“That will be for Percival to discern.  Doubtless he had some… larger motivation.”

“Doubtless,” Eggsy repeated.  He was hardly going to tell Harry off for staying calm and objective, but he still thought he was being far too casual about this.  He went quiet.

Harry was quiet for a while too, just breathing steadily with his head against Eggsy’s hip.  But finally he said, “Are you all right?”

“Am _I_ all right?  Harry, you got stabbed!”

“It’s a minor wound, and it’s going to be fine once we get back to base,” Harry said soothingly.  Eggsy still didn’t think Harry was taking this seriously enough.  “But you’re the one who wants to keep me talking and what I’d like to talk about is what’s been bothering you these last few days.”  He put a clammy hand over Eggsy’s.  “It’s your business, and you don’t have to confide in me if you don’t wish to, of course, but if you were willing to tell me…”      

He sounded so hesitant, like he thought Eggsy didn’t trust him or something, and Eggsy sighed.  “It’s just… complicated, Harry.  I’m still figuring it out.”

Harry nodded.  “I understand.  But maybe… I could help you.”

Eggsy had a feeling that this would be Harry’s final offer.  That if he said _no thanks_ again, Harry would leave it alone.  But Eggsy wasn’t sure he _wanted_ Harry to leave it alone.  Talking to Harry was, after all, the best way to work all this out in a manner conducive to the two of them ending up together once Harry had recuperated. 

“Yeah, maybe.”  Eggsy hesitated.  “Dunno where to start.”

“The beginning is usually preferable.”

“Right.”  What was the beginning exactly?  Harry waiting for him outside the police station?  Harry surviving Valentine’s bullet?  Harry wanting to court him, if that was indeed what he wanted?  “You been… you know… wooing me, right?”

Harry’s eyes widened fractionally, and he went alarmingly still for a moment.  “I had rather supposed you ignorant,” he said at last, something sad happening in his eyes.

Eggsy opened his mouth with no exact idea of what he was going to say next.  It was just as well that that was when Lancelot burst through the door to rescue them. 

*   *   *

Eggsy had his post-mission check-up and gave his report to Merlin all while Harry was still getting stitched up.  By the time that was finished, Percival had taken care of Harry’s contact- he had apparently fallen on hard times and decided to go after the ransom money that he thought Harry, or rather Harry’s alias at the time of their acquaintance, would be worth- and the whole business was more or less over.  It took some really inspired begging on Eggsy’s part for the nurses to let him sit with Harry afterwards, but in the end Eggsy got to go into Harry's room and hold his hand.  That was how he finally fell asleep. 

He woke some time later to Harry’s fingers running gently through his hair.  “You’re awake,” Eggsy said, rather stupidly.  To make up for it, he pressed a kiss to Harry’s knuckles. 

Harry just stared blankly at him.

Eggsy hesitated.  “You do… you do want to be with me, right?”

Harry’s face contorted.  “Yes.  Yes of course I want that.”  His tone was caught between a dismissal and an apology. 

If Harry hadn’t been hospitalized, Eggsy would have given him a very firm talking to.  As it was, Eggsy could hardly keep his voice low and steady, hardly keep from bouncing in his chair.  “Why didn’t you just _say_ , Harry?” 

Harry sighed.  “I didn’t want to… impose on you, my boy.  I couldn’t see a way clear to a… declaration, not without putting you in a difficult position.  But my attentions were marked.  You cannot say that you would have misunderstood them from anyone else.”

Harry’s totally Jane Austen way of putting it aside, he was at least half right.  Eggsy tried to imagine Roxy treating him the way Harry had- would he have assumed _she_ meant nothing by it?  No way.  “I can’t,” he admitted.  He’d sort of thought that was just how Harry was. 

Harry smiled wryly.  “I decided to take that as a sign.  If you couldn’t see what I really wanted from you, it was because you weren’t ready to.  I had to accept that you might never be.”

Eggsy opened his mouth, but then Harry spoke again.

“There was another possibility, though.  That you knew exactly how I felt about you and were… ignoring it out of kindness.  If that has been the case…”

“No!”  Eggsy swallowed.  “ _No_ , Harry.  I didn’t know.  I didn’t know until I took it into my head to woo you and it turned out that you had been wooing _me_ the whole time.”  He leaned toward Harry, holding his eyes gravely.  “You were right, I just wasn’t ready.  I’m ready now.”

He let Harry close the rest of the distance between them, pressing their lips together softly.  “Oh, Eggsy,” Harry murmured, touching the side of his face gently, fingers curling into his hair.  “Are you certain?”

“Yeah,” Eggsy said, pressing their foreheads together.

*   *   *

Harry wasn’t allowed to go home for three days and he was told to take it easy for several weeks after that.  For Eggsy, those weeks consisted of more snogging like a teenager than he thought he had done as an actual teenager and not-quite more furtive wanks in the shower than he thought he had had as a teenager, but it was a close thing sometimes.

Harry was just… so incredible.  The way he kissed Eggsy, the way he touched him, the way he smiled at him… Eggsy just couldn’t quite believe that these were things he got have.  From the way Harry looked at him sometimes, it seemed like he couldn’t believe it either. 

Towards the end of Harry’s initial bedrest period, Eggsy’s hints about all the things he intended to do with Harry the moment he had clearance to began to be very unsubtle. 

Harry said, “You must know that I never intended to spend the night with you without wining and dining you first.”

“But Harry- you been wining and dining me for months now.”

Harry’s smile was slow and the touch of his fingers was full of intent as he cupped Eggsy’s face and brushed his thumb over Eggsy’s lips.  “Well, then,” he said.

Which, of course, was when Merlin sent Eggsy a reminder that he still had a mission coming up. 

“Fucking hell, Harry,” Eggsy said, later, when he called him from the plane.  “This is the worst.”  He had never liked being far from Harry, not even before he realized how in love with him he was.  Not even before he learned that Harry felt the same way.  Now it was torture.

“I know,” Harry said.  “But it’s not _that_ long of an assignment.”

“I’ll miss you getting cleared for...” Eggsy coughed.  “Stuff.”  He had had plans for that night, all right?

“I know,” Harry said again, sounding fond and regretful and amused all at once.  “But come and see me when you get home and I’ll make it up to you.”

“Yeah?” Eggsy asked, really smiling for the first time since he realized he had to go.

“Oh yes,” Harry said. 

Eggsy felt warm and happy and _right_ , like this was what he had been missing all this while, and it _was_.  This was how things between him and Harry were always meant to be.

He carried that feeling with him, cradled close to his chest, over the next few weeks. 

Nothing went horribly wrong.  The mission just seemed to stretch forever.  It didn’t help to know that Harry was waiting for him- waiting to finally be with him- on the other side.

It was late- much later than Merlin had anticipated or Eggsy had planned- when Eggsy finally got back.  He wasn’t hurt, just exhausted.  It was relatively obvious to him that tonight would not be the night that he and Harry finally had sex, but he still just wanted to be with Harry- _always_ \- so he asked his driver to take him to Harry’s house. 

By the time he got there Eggsy found himself wondering if he’d made a mistake, if it would be imposing to just show up in the middle of the night- well, the early morning- to crash.  But when he arrived he still used the key Harry had given him and went inside.  He had stayed over enough times that he had pajama bottoms in one of the drawers in Harry’s spare room and he told himself that he could take a shower, brush his teeth, and get ready for bed without disturbing Harry much.  The question was what to do once he’d finished all those things. 

Of course, Harry was a spy who had lived alone for far too long to sleep through Eggsy turning up like that, no matter how quiet he tried to be.  When Eggsy came back out into the hall, Harry was leaning against the nearest wall.

Eggsy forgot all about imposing when he looked at Harry, closed the distance between them, and kissed him hello.  And Eggsy wasn’t sure he’d ever get over that- kissing Harry hello.  Harry smiled against his mouth.  “Let’s get you to bed.”

“Hmm,” Eggsy managed.  Trapped between Harry’s strong chest and the wall, Eggsy suddenly found that he didn’t have to hold himself up anymore, and once that happened he stopped being sure he _could_. 

“My room or the spare?” Harry asked gently. 

It took Eggsy a second, but he worked out that Harry was asking where he wanted to sleep- since sleeping was clearly all they would be doing.  The spare room was probably the logical choice- after all, Eggsy wasn’t used to sharing someone’s bed and he knew Harry wasn’t either, but he was sure he could sleep _anywhere_ right then, and he just wanted to be close to Harry, and Harry _had_ offered.  “Yours,” he said. 

Harry kissed him again.  “Come on, then.”

He half tugged and half carried Eggsy down the hall and to his bedroom, pouring Eggsy into the bed.  It wasn’t exactly how Eggsy had pictured finally spending the night with Harry, but as Harry climbed in next to him Eggsy couldn’t bring himself to regret it.  Harry just felt so right beside him- and anyway, Eggsy was all but asleep already.  “Thanks,” he murmured. 

“Any time,” Harry said quietly, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

Eggsy hummed happily and slept. 

*   *   *

Waking up with Harry- Eggsy had thought about that a bit more than a gentleman was probably supposed to.  But since it was more appropriate, comparatively speaking, than a lot of the other things he had imagined involving himself, Harry, and Harry’s bed, Eggsy supposed there were worse things to spend a cold night thinking about- and there had been a lot of cold nights. 

Still, he had never quite pictured waking up wrapped around Harry like this, his face buried in the soft curls he hadn’t really gotten the chance to fully appreciate last night.  The breathtaking warm reality of it- and the awkwardness of finding himself tight against Harry’s back with his cock hard and fitted against the curve of Harry’s arse- was beyond imagining.

Eggsy couldn’t make up his mind what to do.  He decided not to move or disturb Harry at all until he had to. 

Unfortunately, Harry was indeed unused to sleeping with another person, and Eggsy had only spent a moment looking at him before he woke.  He stiffened for a second and then relaxed, blinking sleepily at Eggsy and smiling gently.  “Good morning.”

“Uh,” Eggsy said, feeling a flush creeping up his neck.  “Good morning?”

“What is it?” Harry had evidently noticed Eggsy’s sudden embarrassment.  He shifted a little and Eggsy’s hips moved in spite of him, pushing him up against Harry.  “Ah,” Harry said, and chuckled.  He craned until he could kiss Eggsy without moving too much.  His lips seemed even softer and more pliant than normal when he'd just woken up.  “It’s fine.”

“Yeah?”

Harry smiled against Eggsy’s lips and kissed him again.  “That was the plan, after all.”

Eggsy nodded, pressing his face up against Harry’s.  “Maybe not like this, though.”

“Were you planning on strewing roses and lighting candles?”

“Guess so,” Eggsy muttered, flush deepening.  “Sounds a bit silly when you put it like that.”

“It’s not silly,” Harry replied, giving him another kiss.  “A little unnecessary, perhaps, since I would have done anything with you anywhere you wanted.”

Eggsy thought about arguing that such thoughts had felt very necessary indeed, but he changed his mind.  He was much more interested in everything else Harry had said.  “Anything?  Anywhere?”

Harry pushed back against him, very deliberately, and Eggsy hissed, trying not to swear aloud.  Harry nodded. 

And that was something to think about, wasn’t it?  Eggsy wasn’t sure what he wanted just then.  He did know that while- whatever Harry said- the roses and candles idea was a bit silly, he did still want it to be more of a _moment_.  He was sore and Harry- while gorgeous all sleepy and soft like this- was not quite in the state Eggsy most wanted him, all fierce and intense and hungry for it, like in the fantasies Eggsy had worked very hard to keep to a minimum until now. 

And then there was the fact that this felt so very good, this lazy rubbing against each other, this being pressed so close.  Maybe he could- “Harry, can I-”

“Anything.”

“Fuck,” Eggsy breathed. 

Harry had on a t-shirt and boxers, one of the last outfits Eggsy would have expected Harry Hart to sleep in, but one he was grateful for under the circumstances. 

He hiked up the shirt to touch Harry’s skin and then slipped the boxers down over his hips.  Eggsy spit in his hand to wet his cock a little, kissing Harry some more as he shifted position, pushing in between Harry’s thighs.

Harry made a noise against Eggsy lips, caught between surprise and approval, and brought his legs in tight, giving Eggsy something to thrust against. 

It was a bit awkward at first, but as Eggsy’s cock leaked more pre-come the slide got easier.  Harry probably had lube close by, but if Eggsy had been willing to let go of him long enough to get some his intentions right then would probably have been very different- the romance or lack thereof of the moment be damned.

And anyway Harry seemed to be enjoying himself, groaning softly and sighing out, “Ah, that’s nice.  Haven’t done this in years.”

“Don’t wanna hear about your conquests, Harry,” Eggsy said.  Lied.  In fact he was terribly interested.  Harry was the man who had courted Eggsy for almost a year without showing the smallest sign of frustration about his lack of progress- or of interest in fucking somebody else since Eggsy didn’t seem to be available.  Harry was right that Eggsy had been a little silly about him, trying to treat him like a Victorian maiden when he had obviously been around.  But Eggsy liked being good to Harry.  He always had and he always would.  And he wanted to know what Harry had been up to- if only so he could do better. 

Eggsy felt Harry’s smirk against his cheek.  “Don’t you?  What are you going to do about it, then?”

Eggsy swatted Harry’s arse and groaned as Harry pushed back against him.  He cupped the meat of it, fingers digging into firm flesh.  God, Harry was so gorgeous, and he felt so good.  Eggsy thrust in between his legs with more intent and kissed him deep, sliding one hand back under Harry’s shirt again.

“Touch me,” Harry murmured against his lips.

“Aren’t I?” Eggsy asked, tweaking Harry’s nipples. 

Harry growled softly.  “You know exactly what I mean.”

“Guess I do.”  Eggsy gave Harry what he wanted, dragging his hand down Harry’s stomach and curling his fingers around Harry’s cock.  Eggsy was close to coming and he didn’t want to tease Harry any more- he just stroked his cock and fucked in between his legs, pressing sucking kisses to every part of Harry’s body that was readily available to him.

And Harry was good at this, tightening his legs just so around Eggsy as he came, pulling Eggsy along with him.

Eggsy fell back against the pillow, seeing how Harry’s lip curled as he saw what a sticky mess he was.  “Shower?” he said when he could speak.

“Shower,” Harry agreed, still a bit breathless himself. 

Eggsy couldn’t quite muster the energy to move yet, so he just lay there, looking at Harry finally beside him, and said, “We’re… you know… in it now, right?”  While Harry was in the infirmary it had seemed inevitable that they would be- that they _were_ \- but suddenly he was scared that Harry might change his mind.

“Of course,” Harry said, turning in his arms and kissing him hard.  His lips tugged upward against Eggsy’s own.  “Do you think I put out for just anyone?”

Eggsy drew back a little.  “I dunno, Harry.  I think maybe you do.”  He meant it to be teasing, but it came out too heavy as he realized that he was right.  Harry had most likely been with his share of people- but he probably hadn't _waited_ for any of them.  He probably hadn’t been willing to give them everything fully understanding that he might never get anything in return.

Harry turned serious, like he knew exactly what was in Eggsy’s mind.  “I might do,” he admitted slowly.

“Me too, yeah?” Eggsy said.

Proving that he did know what Eggsy was thinking, Harry smiled.  “Did you really ask Lancelot how to court me?” he asked after a moment.

“Never done anything like that before, had I?”  Eggsy laughed at himself.  “She was trying so hard to tell me that you were way ahead of me.”

Harry smiled, finding Eggsy’s hand and kissing it.  “We got there in the end.”

“Yeah,” Eggsy said.  “Yeah, I guess we did.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come see me on [tumblr](http://potentiality-26.tumblr.com/).


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